Diane Oliver ​MEnvS BDes DipDYT

I created Woodland Elements in 2015 to blend my passion for yoga, community development, permaculture and splashing about in the sea. Based in Ardfern, Argyll on the West Coast of Scotland, I have a nomadic spirit and love to travel. It's great fun planning and heading off on mini adventures with my husband, Bill. Over the last few years I have been dedicating more of my time to yoga with a little social enterprise development freelancing on the side.

​I am the fire of the dragon that inspires the intentional path I am the air through which the faeries fly freeing the beauty on their wayI am the sparkle of the sea that creates the ease and flowI am the crystal and the stone that connects to the truth of my soulA child of the elements, I burn, I breathe, I surge, I grow​

Diane Oliver, Imbolc 2018

Yoga Teacher

I love yoga. Yoga has been part of my life since I was a teenager when I was part of an amazing youth contemporary dance explosion. During this time I gained a real sense of community and although I let go of dance in my 20s, yoga has remained part of my life ever since. I later realised that being able to dance enables me to connect with my emotions, be truly free and authentic and by discovering shakti dance I have been able to reconnect with this vital soul part.

I qualified as a Dru Yoga teacher in 2016 and as a Shakti Dance teacher in 2017, I am a member of the Dru Professional Network and the Shakti Dance Academy. During my classes and workshops I share my creative, down to earth approach to life, my honest openness, an occasional ‘f’ bomb and wholeheartedly hold a supportive, safe space for healing and empowerment.

Dance led me to yoga, yoga led me back to dance and dance will lead me home

Paddlesports Coach

I am a water baby. Although I loved swimming as a child it never occurred to me to try watersports until I was in my 20s and working on, in and around the Forth & Clyde Canal in Glasgow. The minute I sat in a kayak I was utterly hooked and paddling became an obsession.

​I am technically a BCU Level 3 Kayak Coach (sea and inland) and living next to the coast, I now only paddle on the sea - generally in a sea kayak, sometimes in a canoe or on a SUP (stand up paddleboard). I love sharing and encouraging others and have been teaching paddlesports since the mid 90s.

Social Enterprise and Community Development

I have been working in community and economic regeneration in a range of management and development roles for 25+ years. Having a strong interest in land and people and the connection and interaction between, my key strengths and skills lie in networking, enabling partnerships, action planning with groups and supporting the development of projects and ideas.

Prior to going freelance with Woodland Elements, I worked with the Community Woodlands Association for 5 years covering a range of aspects including social enterprise development, partnership working, business planning, procurement and project development. I’ve been a member of various committees and boards over the years and have worked with groups of all sizes, backgrounds and ages.